MoM to review Singapore’s Employment Act for first time since 2012

The Ministry of Manpower has sought public feedback on certain aspects of the Employment Act as it reviews the Act for the first time in six years.

BankBazaar Singapore – January 20, 2018

Singapore: The Ministry of Manpower (MoM) is reviewing Singapore’s Employment Act (EA) for the first time in the last six years, with the aim of aligning it with the city-state’s changing employment landscape. The MoM said that it has identified certain areas that need to be reviewed to make sure that the Act remains relevant and up-to-date with labour market conditions. It also invited public feedback on the proposed areas of review.

As part of the review, the Ministry said it is considering extending core provisions benefits to employees who earn more than S$4,500. The EA has certain core provisions, such as entitlement to sick leaves and public holidays, redress for unfair dismissal, and more. Under the current EA, these provisions cover only the employees earning up to S$4,500 per month.

The MoM said that it is also considering extending additional benefits such as annual leave and overtime pay to more vulnerable employees. Currently, these provisions cover non-workmen who earn up to S$2,500 a month and workmen who earn up to S$4,500 a month.

Lastly, the Ministry added that it is also considering changes to the employment dispute settlement system to remove inefficiencies. As of now, there is Employment Claims Tribunals to handle disputes related to statutory and contractual salary and the MoM to handle claims related to unfair dismissals. In cases, where salary and wrongful dismissal issues are together involved, employees have to go to both the parties separately, which makes the process a little inefficient.